Sustainable Fisheries Division

Annual Catch Limits

Annual catch limits (ACLs) are tools to prevent overfishing in commercial and recreational fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administers limits for the following Pacific Island fisheries:

Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions. These include all species of gold coral, all species of deepwater precious coral at Wespac Bed in the NWHI, and the three Hawaii seamount groundfish: pelagic armorhead, alfonsin and raft fish. The current prohibition on fishing for these species serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.

Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.

Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.

Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibition, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.

Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for any bottomfish crustacean, precious coral, or coral reef ecosystem species in the PRIA because commercial fishing is prohibited out to 50 nautical miles by Presidential Proclamation 8336 which established the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument (74 FR 1565, January 12, 2009).